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Letter ReferenceOlive Schreiner: Anna Purcell MSC 26/2.9.2
ArchiveNational Library of South Africa, Special Collections, Cape Town
Epistolary TypeLetter
Letter Date After Start: Thursday 1906 ; Before End: 1910
Address Fromna
Address To
Who ToAnna Purcell nee Cambier Faure
Other Versions
PermissionsPlease read before using or citing this transcription
Legend
The Project is grateful to the National Library of South Africa (NLSA), Cape Town, for kindly allowing us to transcribe this Olive Schreiner letter, which is part of its Special Collections. This letter has been approximately dated by reference to content concerning the women's suffrage campaign.
1 Thursday night
2
3 My darling Anna
4
5 Did you feel how I was loving you as I sat behind you at the meeting.
6I could have kissed your dear little black curl at the back of your
7neck.
8
9 Your paper was lovely dear, so sweet & like yourself, but your way of
10reading it was sweeter. I could have cried while you were reading it.
11I felt sure every one must be falling in love with you. Mrs Solly's
12speech was clever; but after it yours & Mrs Brown's were sweet to me.
13I'll try to come out soon Perhaps Sunday if it's quite fine. Monday &
14Tuesday ^Wednesday^ I am engaged. But the other days are open so far. I
15try to come on Tuesday.
16
17 Wasn't that Irish girl sweet?
18
19 I've been very ill. My heart has not been so bad before. To-day the
20pain is less, & I can see clearer.
21
22 //Margaretha is such a wonderful little person, all other children
23(except Buster) seem so common place beside her; but perhaps my eyes
24are blinded. She's a child one could get to love with an absorbing
25love. Please tell me about Malan's meeting. I hope Mrs M- will not
26spoil it. What does she mean by saying we are going to do something?
27In a country like this where men are even more enlightened & advanced
28on the woman question that women, where everything is advancing so
29wonderfully considering the short time we've been working - what does
30she mean?? We have the wives of two Ministers who will be in the Union
31Parliament on our executive! What more could we expect.
32
33 My darling old boy is looking very well: he plays tennis now as well
34as golf, & it does him much good. But he has to work awfully hard so
35gets little time for reading or writing in the evening. I've not been
36out to the camp since I came.
37
38 Ollie's puppies are so lovely, especially one - with large eyes like
39Netas.
40
41 Good bye dear one. It was so beautiful, so sweet of you to think of
42that pamphlet. You will never know how I prize it. Your love &
43friendship has been so much to me during the last years that I hardly
44know how I should have gone on living here ^in Africa^ without them. It
45all seemed so empty while you were in Europe.
46
47 Good bye.
48 Olive
49
50 Tengo Jabavu is passing tonight but I'm not able to go to the Station
51to meet him.
52
53^Love to you all. My baby will be quite grown when I see her next^
54Olive
55
56Crons still away at de Aar, he returns on Sunday night.
57
Notation
Anna Purcell's paper cannot be traced.